A Milwaukee company is doing something so unique that the world heard about it from President Barack Obama Tuesday night.

Master Lock is looking like its old self again. It's running three shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And the fact that the company is bringing jobs back is giving job seekers a glimmer of hope, especially where jobs are desperately needed, in the central city.

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"A few weeks ago, the CEO of Master Lock told me that it now makes business sense for him now bring jobs back home," Obama said.

That information brought the president thunderous applause during his State of the Union address Tuesday, and it brought an onslaught of national attention to the Milwaukee-based Master Lock on Wednesday morning, said production plant chief executive Bob Rice.

"It was really exciting for us. We were surprised by it, but more importantly, it's good for Master Lock absolutely great for Milwaukee," Rice said.

Master Lock caught the president's attention because the company has brought back 100 union jobs from China to Milwaukee since the summer of 2010 and is now operating at full capacity for the first time in 15 years.

"We're going to bring jobs back when it makes absolutely great economic sense to do that. I always tell my team we need a compelling reason to do it. We've demonstrated that reason," Rice said.

Master Lock's main production house is located in Milwaukee's central city, which is a predominantly African-American neighborhood.

"That had been a staple for the African-American community," Milwaukee Urban League President Ralph Hollmon said.

Hollmon just wrote an article explaining that the unemployment rate in the area is nearly 16 percent.

"I was advocating for the public sector to provide more incentives for employers like Master Lock to do on the job training that is going to help prepare the unemployed people to take the jobs that are going to be available in the future," Hollmon said.

Andrew Weiland of the Milwaukee Biz Times said Master Lock is leading the way towards a brighter future by bringing jobs back.

"We've already heard some other companies that are doing this, so we view this as a great sign," Weiland said.

Master Lock said it would like to bring more jobs back from overseas should the economics support the move.